Better Beer Blog

For as many times as I’ve written about my homebrews, I have never review any of my beers on this site. Part of me thinks that I can’t be objective. I don’t necessarily think that I’ll rate myself undeservedly high, it’s the opposite, in fact. I think I just might be more strict when judging my own beers that that of others. That being said, I had it all lined up where I’d review both my Märzen and my Altbier but something happened on the way to the homebrew store. Well, not on the way, more like, at the homebrew store.

I was purchasing ingredients for next home brew when Rich, the owner of Beer and Winemakers of America, told me about the upcoming Bay Area Brew Off (BABO) homebrew competition held by the Draught Board homebrew club. On a whim, I dropped off my two entries.

It seemed to take forever but the BABO winners were finally posted on the Draught Board website. Draught Board President Roger St. Denis sent an email out to all the participant earlier in the week but I hesitated posting how well I did until Draught Board updated their website as well.

Now that they’re up, I can proudly say that my Märzen took 3rd place in the Amber Lager category while my Altbier took 1st in the Amber Hybrids category!!! Now I can add “Award Winning Homebrewer” to my short list of achievements, ha, ha, ha! Then again, I probably shouldn’t toot my horn too much as not only did my Märzen had an average score of 21 points (Misses the mark on style and/or minor flaws), there were (it would seem) only 4 entrants into the category. My Altbier fared better scoring an average of 30.2 points (Generally within style parameters, some minor flaws) with also 4 entrants in the category. It was an ugly win but a win nonetheless.

Jon from Beer Obsessed once emailed me to say that should I place, I would be bitten by the homebrew competition bug. I would be lying if i didn’t say I am more inclined to enter more of my beers into competition. On one hand, I would’ve been happy just to place but for one of my beers to take 1st in a category is pretty good. On the other, when you start at the top, it’s a long way down. Granted, I didn’t win BOS (Best of Show) but it’s a good feeling nonetheless.

It validates to me that I am a decent homebrewer. It also raises a valid question, do I brew for myself (as I have been) or do I brew for competitions? One would think that both are the same thing but in reality, it’s not, it’s a completely different mindset. For now I think I’ll continue to brew for myself and as competitions come up, I’ll send in whatever I have on tap at the time.

Tomorrow is the start of the Alameda County Fair. The fair runs from June 20th through July 6th making the duration of the event a little over two weeks. I’m almost ashamed to say that this will be my very first county fair. For whatever reason I never visited the Santa Clara County Fair and, for the foreseeable future, it doesn’t seem like I ever will as the fair has gone the way of the dinosaur and the Champ Car race.

Looking at their website, the Alameda County Fair promises to have a variety of activities and entertainment. There will be horse racing, concerts, parades, fireworks and distractions for the kids. My main interest for the fair and the sole reason I’m even writing a post about it is because of the homebrew competition.

The Bay Area Brew Off (BABO) is sponsored by the folks from the Draught Board Home Brew Club based in San Leandro. Their membership is mainly made up of East Bay folks but isn’t restricted to just East Bay folks. BABO is in it’s 21st year and I entered in two of my beers, a märzen and an altbier on a whim. I’ve been chomping at the bit to see how well I did but the results won’t be up until tomorrow. Hopefully I did well and entered the correct bottles for the correct categories. I should consider labeling my beers in the future.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to help judge the 2008 Samuel Adams Longshot Western Regionals. While I am officially a BJCP beer judge, this is my first competition. Of the many beer competitions that are held in the Bay Area, my first one happened to be one of the biggest around.

Samuel Adams, for those who haven’t heard of them by now, is not a brewing company but a brand of beer. The brewery that actually makes Samuel Adams is called the Boston Beer Company and if you’ve watched any sort of television at all, you’ll have seen their founder Jim Koch rubbing fresh hops in his hands or sniffing a glass of beer.

There’s strength in numbers and Samuel Adams has quite a number of beers in their portfolio. The Samuel Adams line of beers include, but are not limited to, Boston Lager, Boston Ale, Pale Ale, Cream Stout, Black Lager, Honey Porter, Summer Ale, Winter Lager and their infamous Millenium and Utopia lines. This is just a partial list; this is also what makes the Boston Beer Company such a great brewery. The Boston Beer Company could’ve played it safe but they hold true to the principles of the craft beer movement and continue to develop different and flavorful beers.

In addition, the Boston Beer Company has continued to support the homebrew scene. It’s largest and most visible effort has been it’s annual Longshot competition. Basically, the Boston Beer Company holds a contest where homebrewers can enter their homebrewed beers. The winner of the Longshot competition will have their beers brewed by the company and sold nationwide. How awesome is that? You could totally enter one of your beers on a lark and it could potentially end up on the shelf of your local BevMo. As you can imagine, thousands of beers are entered annually, which is how I find myself in San Francisco at 9am on a Saturday morning getting ready to judge a few of these beers.

The Longshot is one of the best-sponsored homebrew competitions, if not the best sponsored event. When I arrived at the San Francisco Hilton, I checked in at the registration table where I am handed an official “Official 2008 Samuel Adams Longshot Competition Judge” t-shirt, “perfect pint” glass and some “choose your own adventure/scratch off” collateral you could turn in for another, limited offer t-shirt (which I just found out at the time of writing this article I was supposed to give to the Samuel Adam representative at the time of the competition). In addition to these giveaways, judges are treated to an all-you-can-eat continental breakfast held in the room next door. It doesn’t stop there though; we are also given an all-you-can-eat lunch, all-you-can-eat dinner, and all-you-can-eat breakfast (with an omelet bar) the following morning. Did I mention that if you are coming from out of town, they’ll put you up for the night at the Hilton as well? I shouldn’t get too comfortable though as judging other beer competitions are nowhere as posh. Judges are lucky to get anything to eat, really.

The judging started at approximately 10am. I was assigned to judge in the English Brown Ale category. Based upon the description in the BJCP, brown ales should be full of flavor and complexity. It was only later did I realize that this category was flavorful and complex in a subtle way, very subtle. While I didn’t take any tasting notes I can share with you, I can say that judging beer isn’t all puppies and rainbows. You must keep in mind that all the beers being judged are homebrews. As such, the quality of the beer varies greatly from bottle to bottle. There was a flight of twelve beers between the four judges at our table. When all was said and done, the judge I partnered with and I only judged five beers total. Out of those five, only one was good enough to make it to the second, mini-BOS (best of show). Typically for a homebrew, a score over 30 (out of 50 possible points) is considered very good. We had two beers score in the mid-30s, yet only one was good enough to move on.

The senior judge I was partnered with, Tom (I think his name is Tom), was very patient with me. He was usually finished minutes before me and reassured me that I didn’t have to rush. The most important thing he told me was to write down good notes to so as to help the homebrewers whose beer we were judging. I must say, I felt a great deal of pressure to write down good feedback that I might have hindered my own ability to judge well. I was having trouble keeping up and I felt somewhat lacking in my abilities. To make matters worse, my hands smelled of both the lotion I put on that morning coupled with the smell of pink bathroom soap. Every time I raised my sample to smell, I got a whiff. I wanted to write down “fruity” and “perfumy” on the scoresheets but I couldn’t do that. I tried my best to work through it. Still, as a first time judge, I was within five points of my senior judge. That alone gave me some confidence that I was at least in the ballpark.

Sammy on the other hand volunteered to be a steward again. The original plan was for her to bum around San Francisco with some acquaintances while I judged but she volunteered and they put her right to work. She ended up stewarding the Belgian strong ales category and thankfully for her, Erich of Pixelbrew was at the table. We had met Erich previously at the World Cup Beer Competition held at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley. He could not stop praising Sammy’s palette and rightfully so. Her palette is much more sensitive than mine. Case in point, Erich and his paired judge were having trouble figuring out a flavor in a beer they weren’t sure to pass or send back. They had Sammy taste a sample and she told them, “Honey”. After “ah-ha”-ing, they passed the beer on.

After a very nice lunch of salad, pasta and chicken, Sammy and I bummed around in the hotel room waiting for the Best of Show judging to take place. We were told to come down at 3pm as that’s when the judging would take place. By the time we arrived at 3:10pm, the judging was already over. While I can’t confirm it, I heard a bock won Best of Show.

With most of the judges having left to drink more beer at a few of the local, reputable watering holes, Sammy and I hoofed over to Union Square. This is normally a part of town I avoid simply because it’s filled with tourists. Still, Sammy has been putting up with my beer habit and me; I had to indulge her wishes to walk around Union Square for a bit. We visited some shops, walked around more, and eventually settled down at the Italian café right in the square. Despite the overcast weather, it was a beautiful day.

Dinner was more of the same. It was served buffet-style and featured salads, pork, chicken and more pasta. Just like lunch, the food was fantastic. We joined mead maker extraordinaire Micah and his wife Ann at the table for dinner. Soon afterwards, Scott and Erich joined us as well. While the conversations that we were having were interesting, Sammy and I excused ourselves as we planned to attend the Saison and Bieré de Garde beer tasting being put on by JJ of ThirstyHopster fame.

The taxi we took to her place was only the second taxi I’ve ever taken my entire life. The first was the night before. As such, I was completely fascinated by the experience. When we arrived at JJ’s place, the tasting had already started but thankfully, we only missed out on the opening beer. Having been drinking since 10am, I didn’t take any notes on the beers we tried, In fact, you can read all about the beers directly on JJ’s website. I remember enjoying the Fantome La Daimatienne most out of the saisons. Nothing against JJ but none of the Biere de Gardes were not doing it for me. The style calls for a certain level of funkiness in the beer but in all the samples we had, I did not get even a hint of the funk on the nose, let alone the flavor. To JJ’s defense, true Biere de Garde’s are incredibly hard to find and she picked the American version instead. In my opinion, the Biere de Gardes all tasted like scaled down versions of saisons. All the beers were pretty good but anytime you have a tasting of 10+ beers of the same or similar styles, you can expect your palette to get a little burnt out on those flavors.

In addition to all the good beer, we met some interesting people as well. Sammy and I weren’t formally introduced to everyone so we made friends as we went along. JJ’s friend Rich is a great guy and amateur photographer. Then there was Emi and her boyfriend the rockstar (not really a rockstar but he does play in a band). At times, I found myself wanting to chime in on some of the beer-related topics that JJ was talking about but I felt the need to check myself and keep my comments to a minimum unless I was asked directly. This is JJ’s event after all and I just wanted to be respectful and let the hostess host her party.

Sammy and I ended up leaving the party at around 11pm when we walked over to Toronado. I am definitely envious about JJ’s digs as she lives within walking distance of a great beer bar. How cool is that? At Toronado, we were surprised to see a host of beer judges still there. Needing something renew our palettes, we order a glass of Rodenbach Grand Cru. Nothing like a sour beer to get you going again.

I can’t stress enough how cool and laid back the beer community is. All weekend long Sammy and I were making what I felt were good connections with the other beer judges. The conversations were fun and it was great getting to know everyone. And, AND, we get to drink beer the whole time.

I could go on with the play by play but I’m sure everyone is bored by now. I commend you for getting this far. That being said, this was a great weekend, all made possible by Samuel Adams and the Boston Beer Company.

2008 Samuel Adams Longshot Weekend (click here for full gallery)

AHA National Homebrew Competition at Devils Canyon click to view gallery

This coming Saturday, May 3^rd, is the day I take my test to become a recognized BJCP beer judge. I’ve been studying a little but like most folks, I wait until the end to cram. Having already taken the BJCP preparatory classes, I got a small sense of what beer judging would be but not having been at a homebrew competition, I’d never know for sure. That was until last Sunday.

The American Homebrewers Association held their National Homebrew Competition, West Regional Event at Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company in Belmont, CA. I signed up for this event partly because I’ve never been to a competition and I wanted to see what they are really like. And partly because it people who served at this event will get priority for the Samuel Adams Longshot Competition in San Francisco late May.

Not having ever been to Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company (Devil’s Canyon), I assumed that it would be like most brew pubs. Meaning, it would mainly be a restaurant with a brewery. What Sammy and I found was nothing of the sort. Devil’s Canyon is located in the middle of an industrial park and is more of a production brewery.

Since I haven’t taken my BJCP test just yet Sammy and I signed up to be stewards. The job of a steward is fairly simple: we bring beers to the beer judges and double check their scores. According to the BJCP, the steward’s job is as follows:

A program participant who assists judges, obtains entries and supplies, handles paperwork, and manages the competition logistics at a judging table.

While I was initially a little nervous, once we got into the flow of things, being a steward was actually fairly easy. There’s a lot of standing around and paying attention to the judges. As soon as they begin to engage each other in a debate, that’s when you know they’re ready for the next beer. We take away the old beer and score sheets but not before asking if the most recently judged beer should be capped for a mini-Best of Show (mini-BOS). Nothing too exciting but as someone who is passionately interested in beer, I found it very interesting to listen to the judges go back and forth with each other.

Usually, a more experienced judge (national level or higher) is paired with a less experienced judge (apprentice, recognized or certified). It’s kinda like the whole Jedi/Padawan relationship only without the lightsabers, the force, and mind tricks. Also lacking were the Jedi robes, the hair braids and spiritual philosophies. Okay, it’s nothing like the Jedi/Padawan relationship.

I joke, of course. It’s actually a very good system that fosters honest debate and open dialogue. One pair of judges (a national level and a recognized level) were often at opposite ends of the spectrum with their beers. The national level would rate a beer highly and the recognized level lower or vice-versa. If the difference between scores is greater than 7, discussion is supposed to take place between judges and, hopefully, compromise.

At the end of the day, I didn’t get any scores or winners because this was a regional event with the winners moving to the next round. By the end of the day, I got a really good sense of how a homebrew competition works. All-in-all, a very good day and I’m looking forward to this weekend’s test hoping to join the ranks of other BJCP judges.

2008 World Cup Afterparty Click to view gallery

The Bay Area Mashers held their 2008 World Cup Homebrew finals March 29, 2008 at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California. Even though I didn’t have any entries, the wife and I decided to drive up to Trumer to see how a homebrew competition is run. A few people from the BJCP class were going up so we’d know a few people, at least.

I had no idea what to expect. We arrived at Trumer and followed the signs to the after party. With the gate open, Samboun and I waltz right in and made ourselves at home. There was a fine selection of homebrew on tap along with a keg of Trumer Pilsner donated by the host company. Having never been to Trumer before, I expected them to be a brew pub but found they were a production brewery… that brewed only one style of beer, pilsner. Of the homebrews on tap that were being served, I enjoyed the witbier most, followed by the Trumer pils, then the 14% wheatwine* someone kegged later on in the day. Samboun especially enjoyed the wheatwine.

So far, Sammy and I have attended various beer festivals but this is the first time we’ve been to a homebrew competition. Usually at beer festivals, we get a chance to meet and talk to some interesting people who are primarily interested in drinking as much beer as possible. At this homebrew competition after party, we got to meet and talk to some interesting people who are primarily interested in drinking as much beer as possible… that they brewed themselves. It’s an interesting distinction in that these are people who have an intimate relationship with beer as both a consumer and producer. They are well aware of most aspects of beer making and of tasting. Sure, a lot of them ended up getting drunk nonetheless but at least they were very selective about it.

We got to the point where the organizers began to announce the winners of the 2008 World Cup Competition. What I completely didn’t expect (but should have) was the announcement of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from all 26 styles of beer. That’s a lot of writing and my little pencil and pocket notebook were not up to the task. I wish I could have a complete list of winners from each category but I don’t. Likewise, Samboun got tired of taking pictures of all the winners. She did get a couple of good shots including the winner of “Best of Show”. I must say that members of DOZE (Diablo Organization of Zymiracle Enthusiasts) where runaway winners of this competition. To say they dominated the field would be putting it lightly. I think they may have had a member place in almost each category. From what I was able to gather from the folks I spoke to, it was like this last year as well.The folks as Trumer Brauerei were kind enough to take the few of us who remained on a tour of their production facilities. I could sit here and write play-by-play coverage of the tour, but frankly, that would be boring to both you and me. Instead, click over to the event gallery gallery to view the pictures Samboun took of their facilities. Here are a few notes that I do remember:

• Surprising to maybe just me, Trumer only brews a pilsner. I would have expected a production brewery to make more than one kind of beer but they only do a pilsner. A very good one, in fact.
• The Trumer Brauerei location in Berkeley used to be a Pyramid production brewrey.
• Trumer has a production capacity of 50 barrels at a time. This is the largest capacity I’ve seen to date but I was reminded that the Anheuser-Busch breweries measure their capacities in the hundreds of barrels.
• They can fill a keg (15.5 gallon) in about a minute.
• They have a “pet” black widow that lives somewhere around the kegging machine.
• The Trumer guys are really cool and answered all of our questions.

By the end of the day, a few of the guys left were ready to head to Trappist for more beers but Samboun and I were going to call it a day. We had met some really interesting people (who I keep forgetting to email, sorry guys!) and we hope to see them around. Thanks to the Mashers for allowing us to crash their party, Trumer Brauerei for hosting the event and the cool people we talked to and/or met (Alex, John, Micah, the two Erichs, Crazy Jack and Adam).

I mentioned it some weeks ago but the Bay Area Mashers is in the midst of their World Cup Homebrew Competition. Preliminary judging started last week and the final judging will be held at Trumer Brauerei. Here are the specifics:

Preliminary Judging: March 22, 2008
Final Judging: March 29, 2008
Party: 1:00 PM, Awards at 3:30 PM

Trumer Brauerei Berkeley
1404 Fourth Street
Berkeley, California 94710

A number of my classmates from the BJCP study group will be there along with BJCP Grandmaster Judge John Watson. Hopefully we’ll be able to make it but I didn’t put it on the calendar.